Modern urban areas typically suffer from severe problems due to vehicle traffic congestion.
It would be desirable to control surface vehicle (e.g., automobiles, tracks, buses, streetcars, and the like) traffic flow to reduce average travel time, reduce the frequency of traffic accidents (and the level of associated medical and other costs), reduce pollution (and associated costs) and wasted energy consumption, and reduce the stress experienced by drivers enduring traffic jams and dangerously heavy traffic conditions.
Throughout the disclosure (including in the claims) the term "street" is employed in a broad sense to denote any road, street, highway, bridge, track, set of tracks, or tunnel, or other structure establishing a pathway for one-dimensional transportation (i.e., translation along a one-dimensional axis, which can be curved or linear).
Throughout the disclosure (including in the claims) the term "vehicle" is employed in a broad sense to denote any transportation apparatus capable of translating along a "street." Examples of a "vehicle" translating along a "street" include an automobile translating along a paved road, and a streetcar translating along a pair of parallel tracks. Preferred embodiments of the invention control the flow of automobiles, trucks, and busses as they drive along a grid of paved roads.